How to Achieve Great Color Every Time (1,549 words)
SWOP recently announced a program that certifies proofing devices. All certified proofing devices have an application data sheet (ADS), which is submitted by the manufacturer upon certification. It states that by following the instructions on the data sheet, your proofing device should reproduce a SWOP-compliant proof. A list of SWOP-approved proofing devices and their ADSs can be found at www.swop.org.
An alternative is to place a color bar on your proof and analyze this using a color meter (spectrodensitometer). These results, compared to SWOP standards (refer to ASNI CGTATS TR001-1995) and your printer's color space should give you a good read on how accurate your proof will be on-press. A graphic representation appears above to the right. SWOP offers a good description of a color bar, or your printer may offer one.
Finally, print your proof using a substrate (paper) that is as close to what will be used on-press as possible in surface texture, brightness and gloss.
International Color Consortium (and other) Profiles
One emerging methodology for color matching and management is "embedded profiles" in your devices. Your printer probably uses computer-to-plate correction curves—profiles to adjust your color when they "RIP" your job to the plate. This is a system of values and transfer curves that takes into account a press' ink densities, dot gain and other color balancing characteristics, adjusted to the paper to be used on the job.
Similarly, you can apply color profiles to your proofer. Though some systems use their own format (a Fiery RIP station is one example), an increasing number of proofing systems accept standardized profiles, such as those based on the International Color Consortium (ICC) standard. Your printer may be able to supply you with a profile on a disk or via e-mail that you can load into your proofing system. If these are unavailable, the accepted ICC profile for printing is ANSI CGATS TR001-1995.
